In one of the most populous cities in the United States, Dominic H. Choi has made history. In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles Board of Police selected Choi as the new interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department—one of the country’s largest police departments. Choi’s appointment marked the first time that the LAPD had been led by an Asian American person.
“I’m very happy to be the first Korean American interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department,” NBC reported Choi saying. “I proudly represent that community. But just to be absolutely clear, my role is to represent all communities within this city.”
The son of Korean immigrants, Choi was raised in Los Angeles and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. Shortly after college, Choi began his career with the city’s police department in 1995, where he worked on numerous patrol assignments in a variety of divisions.
He quickly worked his way through the ranks of detective, sergeant and lieutenant before being promoted to captain in 2014. In this position, Choi oversaw Los Angeles’ Foothill and Pacific areas before being promoted again in 2017 to commander of operations central bureau and the Department’s homeless coordinator. He remained in that position until he was promoted to deputy chief in 2019.
Heading a force of almost 9,000 officers in a city of over 4 million people, Choi has been described as one the best candidates to take on the leadership title. Currently, Los Angeles has a greater population of Korean Americans than any other city in the country, making up just over 20% of the town’s citizenship. Choi’s presence is predicted to not only represent this historically underrepresented group but to strengthen trust between Korean Americans and the law enforcement system. Additionally, Choi perpetuates an aura of peace in Los Angeles as he has never used deadly force in his 28 years of service.
“KYCC applauds the historic appointment of Dominic Choi as interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department,” Steve Kang, director of external affairs for the Koreatown Youth Community Center (KYCC), told the public. “Los Angeles is home to the largest Korean American diaspora in the United States and KYCC is appreciative of Mayor Karen Bass and the police commission on their commitment to uplift the AAPI community with the appointment of [interim] Chief Choi as the first Korean and Asian American to lead the department.
“The Koreatown community looks forward to working with [interim] Chief Choi to continue to improve public safety and equity across Los Angeles,” he concluded.
By taking on the position as interim chief, Choi will not be allowed to apply for the position permanently. Instead, his duties will consist of temporarily taking on the duties as acting chief and create a smooth transition to whoever is permanently hired into the role. His exact tenure as the head of the LAPD is currently unknown, but it estimated to be anywhere from six to nine months as the mayor and police commission conduct a nationwide search for a replacement.
“I look forward to working with interim Chief Choi in the coming months, as he provides steady and stable leadership for our police department,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated in a press release. “Choi’s more than 28 years of service to this city as a member of the police department puts him in a unique position to not only lead, but to grow and improve our department.”
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